Morphing to a Model

After all the reading, surveying, analyzing, extrapolating, synthesizing, etc….. then what? Well the next step was to use the results of all this activity to update the conceptual model into a final model of executive skills and traits for use by new or aspiring executives.

If you will remember, the original conceptual model looked like this.

I took each of the functions and updated them, based on the results of my research.

The important communications skills for the new executive include: listen, network, and speak. The skill of establishing interpersonal relationships is combined into networking, as the participants tended to use these terms interchangeably. The skill of written communication is dropped from the model, as it is clear for this population that in-person communication skills are most needed by the new executive. This is perhaps influenced by the tendency of this group to debate and discuss as a prelude to decision-making. So now, this section of the model looks as follows.

For the people skills, the ability to hire and retain people is significantly less important than the other personnel-related skills, and so is eliminated from the model. Keep in mind, that isn’t unusual for the aerospace industry, particularly in downturns. This executive team was clearly focused on the team that they already have in place. If this survey had been conducted during an up-cycle in the industry, I’ve no doubt that the results relative to hiring would have been significantly different. So now, the people skills become as follows.

Within the vision skills portion of the model, the overwhelming (indeed, almost unanimous) response was for the skill of understanding the big picture. However, this didn’t seem to preclude the other vision skills. It did lead me to understand that the remaining skills weren’t as “crisply” defined as possible. The survey comments show that the new executive must be able to transition from a tactical view of the business to a more strategic view of the business. As one executive said, “setting the vision for the future”. Additionally, it was clear that this group of execs believe that a new executive needs to not only have the skills to set the strategy, but also to communicate and even “market” the strategy to get buy-in from the rest of the organization. As a result, the vision skills portion of the model looks as follows.

The execution function portion of the conceptual model provided the greatest number of individual skills, all important to this group of execs to one degree or another.

As a result of their input, the managing change skill is combined with the ability to deal with ambiguity. Also combined were the skills related to dealing with fragmentation and working at a fast pace. One participant observed that the business world moves at a rapid pace and doesn’t always throw information or even problems in a linear, logical fashion. As such, the executive must be able to keep up as he/she moves from fragment to fragment of information.

And finally, as a result of the survey input, the skill of delegation was added to the model. This is especially critical for the new executive. By delegating the day-to-day activities, the new executive no longer participates as closely in the latest “fire fight”…. he/she instead is forced to think in a more long-term, strategic manner.

As a result of these changes, the execution skills portion of the model now appears as follows.

And finally, the executive personal traits. Most of the original list clearly resonated with the survey participants. There was near unanimous support for the honest, ethical, and credible trait. This is likely due to the Midwestern location of this organization and its associated Midwestern conservative values. It was interesting to note that while the participants felt strongly about ethics and honesty; they were, at best, lukewarm about the need for the executive to be empathetic and nice. As such, that trait is dropped from the model. The final portion of the model, executive traits, is shown below. They are listed in priority order.

Bringing it all together, the final Executive Skills and Traits model is shown below.

Of course, I have a few more things to say about this model. Next time, a further discussion of the final model.

Cheers!